Under the Grey Hood
by AppleJTZ
Summary: "My first year in middle school was a real horror story."


Head low. Eyes on your feet. Don't catch attention. All around her, people were talking. Hopefully not about her. Lynn pulled her hood deeper into her face. Turn right. Don't get too close to anybody, or they might get mad. Don't dance around them too much, or they'll think you're a weirdo. Turn left. Was this really the way to her locker? All these middle school hallways looked the same. But Lynn couldn't ask for directions. Not after what happened last time.

Whispers behind her back. Did someone say farting pants? No, smarty pants. They were talking about someone else. Okay, this was the right corridor. Almost there. Walk fast, but don't run. Don't catch attention. Raising her head slightly, Lynn checked if someone was staring at her. Throughout the entire hallway, students had gathered in small groups. No one even noticed her. As if she didn't exist. Just keep walking. Eyes on your feet. Don't catch attention.

After taking another turn, she saw her locker down the hallway. So far, so good. Calming down a little, Lynn headed straight for it, but then stopped in her tracks. A group of students from her class was right in front of her. Some glanced at her, smirking. Her heart beating fast, Lynn avoided their stares as she walked towards her locker. Though they kept staring at her no one made a comment, Lynn breathing a silent sigh of relief as she walked by.

_Pfff._

Lynn froze. One of them had blown a raspberry into their hand, mimicking a fart. Behind her, Lynn could hear them giggle. Blood rushed into her face. Driving her thumbs under her backpack she picked up her pace, looking straight at her feet. Just a bit further. All she had to do was pick up her books and get to math with no accidents. Math was safe – everyone just dozed while the teacher mumbled something about numbers. Afterwards, chemistry. This was more problematic, especially if there was a partner assignment. She'd probably end up with the last one available. Or some kids formed a group of three so she was left out. Again. Lynn shook her head. She'd worry about that later. First, the books.

Finally, Lynn reached her locker. Feeling like a burden had been put off her chest, she turned the combination on her lock. It didn't snap. Confused, she tried again. Still didn't budge. Her irritation turned into anger, then panic as she tried over and over. Did she forget her combination? No, it was the day her favorite soccer player shot his legendary goal, she was sure of it. Was the lock broken? Or maybe just stuck? With all her strength, Lynn tried to force it open. She could feel the lock wiggling. Just a little more, a tiny bit…

Suddenly, her hands slipped off, the momentum making her stumble backwards. Her eyes wide open, she wailed her arms in the air. If she fell, she'd be a laughingstock! Desperate, she tried to stay on her feet. Just as she was about to catch her balance, her back collided with something. It wasn't the wall or a locker. It wasn't a person. It was something smaller, something… cylindrical? Knocking it over, Lynn made one last attempt to stay on her feet before she fell on top of it.

Down on the floor, it took a moment before she realized the situation. Her fall had been surprisingly soft. Some sort of vicious mass was underneath her. A foul stench suddenly hit her nostrils, while something poked her face. After fumbling around a bit, she ripped the rotten rest of an apple from her cheek. She frowned in disgust, even more when she saw the sleeve of her grey hoodie was smeared with some green-brownish substance. Looking up, she then noticed the janitor was staring down on her, rather perplexed. She also saw he'd been pushing an empty hand truck. Then, Lynn turned her head to the mysterious object sha had bumped into, and immediately realized what had happened: She had knocked a trash can from the janitor's hand truck. A trash brim with stinking, rotting garbage. Garbage she was lying in right now.

As if the realization had removed a plug, she heard it. Quietly at first, but ever louder. The laughter of students echoing through the hallways.

Her cheeks became bright red. As people laughed and pointed at her she shoved her nose into her collar, trying to pull her hood into her face. But some of the trash had latched onto the edges and was smacked against her face, making everyone laugh even more. She gritted her teeth, but any anger that could boil up was drowned by feelings of shame and embarrassment. In panic, Lynn tried to stand. The trash was so slippery and moist, she almost slipped a few times, provoking even more laughs. The moment she had somewhat stable footing she dashed off, barely avoiding tripping again as she ran down the corridor, past laughing students. She wiped the trash from her face, alongside a bit of water from her eyes, and closed her hood around her face. Just keep moving. She'd hide somewhere, skip math, maybe the whole day. She didn't care if she got in trouble. There was no way she could face her class, or anyone else from school today!

Soon, she was out of the corridor. However, with the trash all over her, she was still the center of attention. Some kids chuckled, but most of them just avoided her, pinching their noses in disgust. Lynn continued to run, until finally, she was in an empty hallway. She had no idea in what part of the school she even was, but she didn't care. Feeling somewhat safe she slowed down, and took some deep breathes. Then, she frowned: With the adrenaline rush wearing off, she only now realized the stench coming off from her. It was almost nauseating. Stopping in front of a trash can, she tried to clean herself. Most of the trash she could brush off, but some still clung to her. Maybe she could wash it off in a restroom? If she could find one, that was, and make sure no one else was inside…

Suddenly, someone put a hand on her shoulder. She almost jumped, then winced. Eyes closed, she awaited the new nickname, barrage of laughter or whatever else would pour down on her – and was surprised when she heard the voice of an adult man.

"Sheesh, calm down girl!" Prying with one eye over her shoulder, Lynn saw it was the janitor from earlier. Though his voice was comforting, she noticed something stern in his expression. "You can't just run around like this – you're getting the dirt everywhere!" Looking behind him, Lynn saw she had left a trail of trash in her escape. A blush on her face, she gulped. "You're gonna clean up the mess you made, you hear me?" the janitor told her. More softly, he said: "But first, let's get you some clean clothes. And go hit the showers in the gym hall. I'll let your teacher know."

Lynn nodded. The janitor went ahead, Lynn following quietly. As they walked down the corridors, the students didn't dare to laugh. But she could hear them whisper. Feel their stares on her. A knot in her stomach, Lynn walked closely behind the janitor, and pulled her hood into her face. Head low. Eyes on your feet. Don't catch attention.


End file.
